SAN PABLO / 2 men, teen arrested in slaying of high school freshman

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, March 24, 2007

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Ivan Santos, 15 (pictured), was shot and killed on Feb. 2 2007 while walking near his San Pablo home. The San Pablo Police Department announced today that three arrests had been made in the case. EDS NOTE: SMALL FILE SIZE. USE ONLY AS ONE COLUMN
Photo Courtesy Alison Santos
**Ivan Santos, Alison Santos Ran on: 03-24-2007
Ivan Santos, 15, was shot and killed while walking down the street near his home.
Ran on: 03-24-2007
Ivan Santos, 15, was shot and killed while walking down the street near his home. less

Ivan Santos, 15 (pictured), was shot and killed on Feb. 2 2007 while walking near his San Pablo home. The San Pablo Police Department announced today that three arrests had been made in the case. EDS NOTE: ... more

SAN PABLO / 2 men, teen arrested in slaying of high school freshman

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Two men and a 17-year-old boy have been arrested for fatally shooting a 15-year-old San Pablo high school freshman in cold blood because they saw him walking down the sidewalk dressed like a rival gang member, police said Friday.

Ramon Alejandre, 30, an alleged Sureño gang member, and two alleged Sureño associates, Roberto Garcia, 21, and a teenager were arrested Thursday and Friday in the February slaying of Ivan Santos.

The suspects were riding in a 1988 GMC vehicle on Feb. 2 when they saw Santos walking on the 3100 block of 11th Street in San Pablo, police said. Santos, a freshman at De Anza High School in Richmond, was on his way home after buying a soda at a nearby store.

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Without a word, Alejandre, who has a previous conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, got out of the GMC, pulled out a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun that had been reported stolen and fired several shots, killing Santos, police said.

Santos was wearing clothing like that worn by members of the rival Norteño street gang, police said. Santos was not a gang member, though he associated with Norteño gang members and had gang paraphernalia in his bedroom, said San Pablo police Detective David Hoff.

But Santos' relatives insisted Friday that he wasn't connected to any gang.

"I know my brother -- he was not related to any gang," said Alison Santos, 19. "I believe that it was a moment of just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was just an ignorant mistake made by ignorant people."

She said her brother was wearing a large white shirt with plaid pajama pants, not any gang attire.

When the victim's aunt, Estella Cirilo, was asked if her nephew was linked to a gang, she said, "One thousand percent, I can say never."

Several hours after the slaying, Hercules Police Officer Sophia Esparza, who joined the department in August, pulled over the GMC driven by the juvenile near the Hercules-Pinole border, police said.

Esparza was unaware of the slaying but arrested Alejandre for being a felon in possession of a .45-caliber weapon, which was later linked to the killing, Hercules Police Chief Fred Deltorchio said Friday.

It wasn't until this week that San Pablo police reviewed reports from neighboring jurisdictions that they learned about the Hercules car stop, Hoff said. San Pablo police asked the Contra Costa County crime lab to rush the test on the gun that had been sent for processing by Hercules police, and there was a match, Hoff said.

Deltorchio, whose department is composed of 28 officers, called Esparza "a very gifted newcomer. It would almost be a disservice, despite her short tenure, to call her a rookie."

Alejandre, who was being held at San Quentin State Prison on a parole violation for allegedly possessing the gun, was formally arrested Friday in Santos' slaying.

Garcia was arrested Thursday at a Richmond home and is being held in lieu of $1.1 million bail at Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez. The 17-year-old boy was arrested Thursday in Vallejo and is being held at Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall in Martinez.